The Black Hawk
Rumors Are Rife
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/the-z-20-now-in-chinese-airspace/
The latest military helicopter in China made its 1st flight on the 23 December in a north-eastern location in China which is purportedly the Harbin facility. It is believed that this is the “10-tonne” class, Z-20 aircraft which is a joint effort between Harbin and Changhe as well as the 602 Institute. It is very similar to the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk which has been a favored aircraft in the Chinese military for the last 30 years. The public first got a glimpse of this aircraft in 2013 August. That was when the heavily-wrapped fuselage was being transported by road and had got photographed. The Black HawkIn the mid-1980’s China bought 24, Sikorsky S-70C-2s. These aircraft were pressed into active service by the army for treacherous missions in different mountainous regions in China, like Tibet. Within a short period of time, these aircraft performed amazingly well and impressed the Army personnel. The U.S cut-off spares and supplies support post in 1989 and the army commenced buying a majority of its aircraft from Russia and it shifted to the Mi-17/171s. In the meantime, Changhe started reverse-engineering parts to keep the army’s S-70 fleet flying. The Z-20 team drew heavily from the Sikorsky helicopter designs. Rumors Are RifeCertain rumors stated that Pakistan permitted Chinese engineers access to the heavily modified Black Hawks that has been destroyed during the Bin Laden raid. The Z-20 bears a striking resemblance to the S-70 but has some notable differences as well. The Black Hawk has a 4-blade main rotor while the Z-20 has a 5-blade unit. The Z-20 also has a longer and a wider cabin and there are some differences in the tail and the undercarriage. A utility helicopter such as this can be used very effectively for fire support, assault, special operations missions andelectronic warfare. The Z-20 is projected to be used to beef up the helicopter fleet aboard an aircraft carrier called the Liaoning. Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/the-z-20-now-in-chinese-airspace/
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The United States Air Force and Boeing Aerospace & Defense Corporation have announced that they have now successfully completed the conversion of a retired F-16 into a modern drone. Now, it will be possible for fighter jets to fly at supersonic speeds, land, as well as operate normally without actually having a pilot on board. Boeing announced that the modified versions of this F-16 Fighting Falcon will now operate as a QF-16 Full-Scale Aerial Target that will be used in various training practices by the Air Force. The Falcon takes offRecently, two Air Force pilots controlled the 1st successful flight that was carried out from the ground station located at the Tydall Air Force Base in Florida. The maiden flight of the F-16 Fighting Falcon took off from the runway as usual and also completed an entire series of complex simulated air maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico. During these maneuvers, they surpassed the speed of sound & landed safely too. The commanders at the base said that it was a little different to see the plane with no pilot in it but the flight was excellent, all the way around. It is a perfect replication of different real world and current situations & the aircraft platforms that they can shoot as targets. Now they have a highly sustainable, 9 G capable, aerial target. The Air Force has also maintained that this QF-16s will be used only in their training exercises whenever pilots are completing any dogfight-simulations in the air. Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/remote-air-fighting-comes-of-age/ The Female Pepsi SkywriterThe field of aviation is still unarguably male dominated. However, more and more women are slowly starting to break into this field, and they are doing some pretty good work. Here’s the story of how Cpt. Suzanne Asbury-Oliver from Forest Grove in Oregon became a professional pilot and a famous Pepsi skywriter. Suzanne’s HistorySuzanne’s father had always dreamt about getting into aviation, but life took him down a different path, and he ended up going to medical school. However, when Susanne’s father was given a ride on a sailplane as a father’s day gift, he decided to take Suzanne with him. After the ride, he enthusiastically told Susanne about his love for flying and asked her to take aviation lessons. At 14 years of age, Suzanne started going for flying lessons and she had flown her first solo flight at the age of 15. By the time she was 18, she had her commercial certificate, her flight instructor certificate and her multi-engine rating as well as a number of other qualifications, making her a professional pilot. The Pepsi SkywriterThe aviation industry took a big hit in the 1980s, and work was erratic. When Suzanne saw an advertisement looking for a skywriter for Pepsi, her interest was piqued. Although she was pretty sure, she was not going to get the job, she still applied for it. Her huge experience played a major role, and she managed to get the job and was immediately put onto the skywriting plane with the head skywriter at that time, Jack Strayer. On their first flight, he showed her how to write ‘Pepsi’ in the air. Suzanne picked up very quickly and after working under Strayer for a year, she got promoted to head skywriter. It was during this time that she met her husband, skywriter Steven Oliver, and they became America’s first skywriting couple. Even though, skywriting isn’t very popular in today’s world, Pepsi Co. still uses it as a form of advertising. Asbury-Oliver has now logged over 5,500 hours of flying over America and Canada. She writes over 500 messages in the sky every year. PEPSIE PLANEAuthor: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/women-in-aviation/ Airlander, the largest aircraft to ever fly the skies, was unveiled at February end. The British creators of the aircraft said that they would be able to deliver up to 1,000 more of these, changing the way in which the planet responds to any global disasters. This massive airplane is 302ft in length and is a part airship, part plane and helicopter and it sits in 1 of the 2 Cardington Hangars in Bedfordshire. It can stay up in the air for up to 3 weeks unmanned and can touch-down on land/sea. This massive aircraft is a creation of Hybrid Air Vehicles based in Cranfield. The BenchmarkThe Airlander is definitely the new benchmark in greener aircraft. Dickinson, Iron Maiden’s lead singer is a professional pilot and has co-funded the Airlander. He compares this £30m aircraft to the Thunderbird 2 and also said that the day the Airlander was unveiled was a momentous day for the world of aviation. He said that this beautiful airplane, its scale and imagination is amazing. It is cutting-edge aviation and the world’s largest airplane has been created in a shed in Bedford. It’s definitely something to be proud about. The 1st HAV Airlander was initially going to be owned by the United States army. Bigger than the BiggestThe plan was that the army would use it mainly in surveillance missions across Afghanistan. But, the budget cuts led to a cancellation in the plan. This was when the HAV stepped in and the Airlander was brought to life. This impressive airplane is approximately 60ft longer than the Boeing 747-8 and the Airbus A380, which are the biggest airliners today. To date the Antonov An-225, which is a cargo-carrying plane was the longest aircraft to be built and the Airlander has beaten its length by almost 30 ft. It resembles an airship and is slated to be in the air by the beginning of 2015. Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/the-largest-hybrid-aircraft-for-a-greener-world/ Passengers on an Air Asia flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur were in for a rare treat when they were served in-flight by none other than Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airlines. The Virgin boss played his stewardess role to the hilt, in complete uniform and make up. What’s more, according to those who were at the receiving end of the service, he made an excellent stewardess. So what exactly happened and how did this come about?We have to backtrack a bit to get to the whole story. Seems like, way back in 2010 Richard Branson and Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandez bet each other that their respective teams in the Grand Prix Formula One would beat the other. The person who lost would serve as an in-flight stewardess on a flight on the winner’s airline. To Branson’s bad luck, Fernandez’s Lotus team placed two higher than Virgin and Branson lost the bet. Though this may have been cause for embarrassment to anybody else, to the Virgin owner, this was just another opportunity to show the world what a super sport he can be. In fact Branson went all out and dressed up as an Air Asia female flight attendant. He wore a red skirt and jacket ensemble with a white shirt and red ballerina pumps, which is their in-flight uniform. Not just that – he went all the way and shaved his legs and wore fishnet stockings, lipstick and complete eye makeup. The only thing he stopped short of doing was shaving off his beard and mustache. All in all a pretty amusing picture. No passenger on that Air Asia flight is going to forget this for a long time. Everyone knows that Branson could never resist a challenge and especially one as audacious as this. Of course, he also couldn’t resist getting his own back one way or the other. He got back at Fernandez by tipping a whole tray of drinks on the Air Asia CEO’s lap during the flight! Way back towards the end of the 1930’s when it seemed like the Nazis would be the world rulers, Germany decided that it required an observation plane which would provide unparalleled visibility for scouting-out targets. At this point, BV submitted its Blohm & Voss BV 141. This was an aircraft with a very unusual asymmetrical design. It has a tail boom with its radial engine on 1 side. The shorter crew compartment that was made up almost completely of windscreens (with a camera in it), was fitted on the other side. The company had produced 3 Blohm & Voss BV 141 prototypes in 1938. The last of these was outfitted with 2, 2.92mm machine guns that fired forward and 2 that fired rearward. Racks had also been added for 4, 11 a-pound bombs. It was believed that the initial aircraft were underpowered. Thus, the engines were revamped and 5 more BV 141 were built with these high-powered engines. In late 1941, the company started on the trials which were discontinued in 1943. These aircraft operated at a much lower speeds than the bombers and allied fighters. The Luftwaffe needed more fighters to shield the country from the persistent Allied bombing. Thus, though the Blohm & Voss BV 141 performed well, the need of the hour was for these faster bombers and it never moved into operational service. Only 23 of these unusually structured aircraft were built. In the end, the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 that had a similar fuselage with a more traditional twin engine layout won the race to the skies. Every decade has had its fair share of aircraft oddities and many aircraft were unique in configuration, concept or design. In the latter part of the decade, the world saw some more unorthodox aircraft make an appearance. But the Blohm & Voss BV 141, with its outstanding all-round vision and off-center single engine will probably be recognized as the world’s most unusual aircraft. Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/why-the-blohm-voss-bv-141-never-soared/ What the Super Rich Are BuyingWhile flying first class, buying diamonds or owing the latest car model might seem like splurging for the “regular” rich, these kinds of purchases are passé for the super rich. For them, these are things they’d buy with their pocket change. So what do the wealthy buy when they want to splurge? Think expensive- outrageously expensive! They want the best, they want the unique and they are prepared to pay for it, price is no bar. Take a look at these two extravagant flying toys that belong to two famous personalities. Richard Branson’s Underwater PlaneHe has everything – a phone company, an airline, a record company and even his own island! But Richard Branson is always looking for more and four years ago, he revealed the Necker Nymph to the world. Built using fighter jet technology this underwater plane could go right down in the water to 130 feet. It looks like something between a submarine and a jet plane and can carry two people together with a pilot on a two-hour trip. It can be driven with a joystick and can glide over water as well as go down into the water. This extravagant toy is only for the use of private guests at Necker Island, the luxury island owned by the Virgin boss himself. Red Bull Founder 1.7 Million Underwater PlaneRed Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz followed suit in 2013 with a $1.7 million underwater plane – the DeepFlight Super Falcon. This plane can go down to 1600 feet under water and unlike a submarine motion that goes straight down, this under plane uses wings to fly down in the water. According to Graham Hawkes, the marine engineer from London who designed the DeepFlight Super Falcon, underwater planes such as these are what billionaires are looking at these days. It’s not surprising. When you have the money and already own top of the line vehicles, you need something exotic and exclusive and underwater planes definitely fit the bill perfectly. Richard Branson’s Necker NymphAuthor: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/super-rich-flying-toys/ The DJI Phantom Will Drone AutonomouslyDrones are now topping the list when it comes to grabbing media attention and the DJI Phantom is probably one of the best known consumer drones, somewhat in the manner that the go Pro Hero is the true hero of action cams. Of course, the DJI Phantom has no claim to being the 1st drone or even the cheapest on the scene. However, it is definitely the most widely used one. But the one aspect that the Phantom has been lacking in, compared to its rivals, is the ability to actually fly on its own. But now, it will not lag on that count either. Total ControlThe Ground Station feature that has now been added to the current camera app on the Phantom provides this functionality too. Not very long ago, Ground Station had started out as a standalone app for iPads. The latest buzz is that it has now been added as a free Android Vision and iOS app. This has come as a boon for Phantom2 Vision users as they are now able to view video in real time and control the device right from the camera in the quadcopter, via the smartphone they are using. The Plus PointThe Ground Station feature is now the absolute latest version of this particular app and users have the functionality of dragging up to 16 different pins on any map of the location that they are in. These pins indicate the GPS-waypoints that the copter will hit while it is in the air. The users also have the ability to set altitudes for every one of those points as well as the rate of speed at which the device will reach them. Once the programming has been completed and the Phantom has been activated, it will do so by itself and carry out the mission autonomously. This complete control functionality is a definite plus now. Author: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/the-dji-phantom/ A C-130 Hercules Landed on an Aircraft CarrierThe world of aviation regularly sees some of the most-amazing happenings. One such amazing event was that of the Hercules C-130 landing on the USS Forrestal (CVA-59), making it the largest and heaviest plane ever to land on an aircraft carrier. The C-130 Unbelievable MissionThe experiment was carried out on the Super Carrier Onboard Delivery Aircraft (COD), on the 30th of October 1963, about 500 miles from Boston in the middle of the rough seas of the North Atlantic. The whole point of the mission was to deliver emergency supplies to aircraft carriers when needed. Before this particular experiment, tests had only been carried out with aircraft that were much smaller When the pilot of the mission, James H Flatley III was first told about this new mission, he could not believe it. In addition to a whole number of other complications, whether the plane would be able to meet the maximum sink rate was probably one of their biggest concerns. But surprisingly, they managed to stay well within the limit. A Challenging FeatThe Hercules C-130 only had a few small changes from the Grumman C-1 Trader, the original plane used for COD missions. Anti-skid brakes were added to the new model, and a smaller nose-landing gear orifice was fixed to the C-130 and the under-wing refueling pods detached from the mighty Hercules. Now for the actual challenge: the test. On the day of the test, the sea was pretty rough, so the ship had to increase its speed by 10 knots in order to reduce the wind direction. The plane managed to land perfectly and stopped right opposite the captain’s bridge and was welcomed with a lot of laughter and cheering. American HeroesThe Navy awarded Lieutenant James H Flatley the Distinguished Flying Cross, but the Hercules C-130 was considered to be too risky to use for COD purposes, and substituted with a smaller aircraft. Salute to lieutenant. James H Flatley III, pilot; Lieutenant commander. W.W. Stovall, copilot; ADR-1 E.F. Brennan, flight engineer; and Lockheed engineering flight test pilot Ted H. Limmer, Jr for their great courage and success, having achieved 29 takeoffs and landing with a gross weight of 40 to 55 tons on 745 feet of runway, flight deck; I guess it would have been a hair-raising experience to land a C-130, nicknamed the Hog on such a short runway. You would need to be a made of steel nerves to attempt such a daring mission. These man a truly American heroes. The trial conducted by the Hercules on the USS ForrestalAuthor: Fast Aviation Data
Source: https://www.fastaviationdata.com/the-mighty-kc-c130-hercules/ The Quadcopter Latest BuzzDJI Innovations considered as a global leader in developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), has over 500 employees and operates in North America, Europe and Asia. Their largest market is in the USA. In 2013, DJI Innovations launched the unmanned aerial toy called the Phantom Quadcopter. This GPS-enabled quadcopter was sold for recreational use and became hot news around the world. And only just recently DJI Innovations released their latest unmanned aerial vehicle, creating a buzz around the world. The just released Phantom Vision 2 is an unmanned aerial vehicle built for commercial and recreational purposes. Features of the Phantom 2 Vision QuadcopterThe Phantom 2 Vision compared to its predecessor has been built with a longer life battery and a better video stabilizer. The 14 megapixel HD video camera is attached under the UAV and is held by four rubber plugs. The Video camera installed on the quadcopter can tilt up or down and has a shooting angle of up to 140 degrees. Video shots are recorded onto a MicroSD and can be viewed in real time and shared online by simply installing a custom application onto any iOS or Android device. The application has extra features to check altitude, speed and battery life. And finally the quadcopter landing gear consists of a pair of skid’s giving it a smoother landing. Quadcopter easy to use and affordableThe Phantom series of quadcopters are affordable and relatively easy to use. They have become so popular amongst photographers that DJI Innovations are now focusing more on developing more advance UAVs and micro air vehicles (MAVs) for aerial video photography, aerial survey and surveillance roles. Seeing the world in a different waysIt is fair to say that the quadcopter developed by DJI Innovations is taking the world of photography into the next generation, promising the world a new vision of the unexpected. So I would suggest to all the readers who value their privacy, to make sure that you pull the curtains over the window. And at the same time I guess we should all be happy that they still haven’t invented glasses that can see through walls. I will surely let you know if it happens in my lifetime. Tested: DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Quadcopter Drone |
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